Do Dogs Get Tired Of Barking?

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Perhaps you are visiting this page because you are one of many of us who are sitting at home listening to a dog barking non stop and one of the nicer questions that goes through our mind is, do dogs ever get tired of barking?

Or perhaps you are a dog owner who has just received a written warning from your local authority about your noisy dog and you are just starting to think about ways to help your dog bark less.

Either way, this post will look at the causes and solutions of excessive barking and to start with let’s look at whether barking makes dogs tired. 

Do dogs get tired of barking?

I think that this all depends on what we mean by barking. 

I think in the physical sense, dogs do get tired. 

In the sense that they cannot bark all day long without stopping because they would lose their voice or they would need a drink.

In another sense of “tired” as in does a dog get bored of barking? Then I think that some dogs won’t.

Those dogs that just seem to carry on barking for hours are doing this because they have been left alone for too long. 

They bark compulsively at the slightest sound because they just want to get someone’s or something’s attention.

It might be that they hear a voice nearby or that they hear a car going past. 

They are desperate for that voice or that car to belong to their owner.

Dogs are pack animals and so most of them need the company of other dogs or humans.

If they don’t get enough company, they get very stressed and one of the ways that dogs display stress is by barking excessively. 

Some dogs are much better at being left on their own. Each dog is different. 

Why do dogs bark?

A dog can bark for any number of reasons. 

It is their way of communicating exactly how they are feeling to a wide range of people, dogs and even other animals.

Off the top of my head, I can think of 9 different ways that a dog might use their bark:

  1. As a greeting to other dogs
  2. As a greeting to owners
  3. Out of excitement
  4. Discipline young
  5. To warn the rest of the pack about an urgent threat
  6. To initiate play
  7. To threaten an intruder
  8. To threaten a strange dog
  9. To try and attract attention when they are bored

Do dogs get sore throats from barking?

Yes, dogs can get a sore throat. It is called laryngitis (the same condition that humans suffer from.) Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx.

Does suffer from it for a number of reasons, one of which includes barking too much

Of course, without visiting a vet, it is difficult to know if a dog has a sore throat because they can’t tell us.

But many owners have reported that their dogs have “become hoarse” after returning from a stay at kennels. 

Kennels are incredibly stressful environments for many dogs and so it is easy to imagine that after staying in one for a week, a dog who has spent most of the time barking would either sound hoarse or have lost their bark completely.

How to stop a neighbour’s dog from barking

Of course, if you are reading this because you are having to listen to someone else’s dog that lives close by to you, the only way to stop the dog from barking is to have a word with the owner or to report it.

In the U.S., the local laws differ depending on where you live.

But it seems that as the number of pet dogs increases, our tolerance of excessive barking has decreased. 

And it isn’t surprising: a study in 2006 found that dog rescue shelters can be so noisy that they exceed 118dB. 

To put that in context, that is the equivalent of standing next to an emergency siren or slightly less than a military aircraft taking off (140 dB.)

In 2010 some locations in the U.S passed laws that meant that after twenty minutes of continuous barking a neighbour could issue a complaint.

That figure was revised down in 2012 to 10 minutes of noise

The impact on some people’s health is immense because of how wearing it is to listen to that level of noise day in and day out. 

If you have any doubt about how seriously some courts take this issue, read this story about a dog owner who was jailed.

On the flip side are neighbours who have endured excessive barking for years and got nowhere with their local authority. 

5 ways stop your own dog from barking

This will require work on two levels.

Firstly, you will need to provide your dog with more company.

Secondly you can then work on the specific skill of getting your dog to bark less.

And in this article, I will focus on the first level.

If you are the owner of a dog that barks obsessively, you have a tough job on your hands. 

If the real reason for your dog’s barking is separation anxiety, how are you going to fix that without changing your routine and potentially your job?

Here are five ways to prevent separation anxiety

[1] Change your working hours slightly

You might be able to change your hours so that you can start later, which will give you more time to take your dog for a walk before work.

Or you could work later and take a longer lunch break so that you can home home in the middle of the day.

[2] Ask to work from home

Covid- 19 is completely changing how we work and it might be that your company would let you work from home a few days a week..

[3] Ask a friendly neighbour or member of the family to pop in during the day.

When my wife and I both used to be out at work, my mother in law used to pop in and take our dog out for a walk.

[4] Pay for daycare

Most of us have easy access to doggie day care, which are these all day “nurseries” for dogs. 

And at daycare, there is very little chance of a dog getting lonely or not receiving enough attention..

And they seem to cost only slightly more than a dog walking service would. 

[5] Pay for a dog walker

If for some reason you cannot get your dog to a local day care centre, perhaps you should consider hiring a dog walker? 

They will provide your dog with human contact and some exercise for an hour or two.

Closing Thoughts

Hopefully, my article has provided some helpful advice to both owners of dogs who are compulsive barkers and to long suffering neighbours to…

James Grayston

My name is James and I love dogs. have owned four Golden Retrievers in the past 15 years. Currently I own two "Goldies"- a five year old and a seven month old. The photo shows me with our youngest when she was about 7 weeks old!